Education: Is America Spending Too Much?

by Robinson

Some analysts warn that cross-country comparisons of spending on education ignore an important variable: the level of private or church spending for education.(14) In Japan, for instance, most students attend special private schools at night and on Saturdays. That type of expenditure is not reflected in UNESCO’s comparisons, but that doesn’t alter the finding that the large amounts the U.S. government spends on education are not matched by foreign countries whose children are better educated. It may well be (as argued below) that the private nature of educational activities in those countries is a crucial factor in their success.